


First Kiss

by sylvain



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Nervousness, Other, Pre-Relationship, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26678215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylvain/pseuds/sylvain
Summary: Leonardo has never been kissed, but the shifting energy of your friendship has him wondering what it would be like.
Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Reader
Kudos: 72





	First Kiss

Laughing, you fall back against the armrest of the couch, knock your head against the old, beaten thing and slosh luke warm cider onto your shirt. It only causes you and Leo to laugh harder. “Whatever, man,” you say, wiping at the wet stain, “but your last wipe out was a complete disaster.”

The guys fully expected you to be the one eating cement when they took you sewer surfing this afternoon. It was a shock to everyone when Leo couldn’t manage to stay on his board. 

You wait for Leo’s snippy comeback--or for him to at least push your feet off the couch--but he goes quiet instead. Peeking over at where he sits on the opposite end of the small sofa, you find his eyes on you. They seem to linger in a way that’s becoming more common than not, and the attention makes your heart skip a beat. 

When he notices you looking, he meets your gaze before quickly turning his eyes to the pipelines above. You’re seconds away from asking him if he’s alright, but he sighs and asks his own question before you get the chance. 

“Do you ever think about it?”

You scoot up, just a little. “About the 1990 miniseries or the 2017 reboot? Cause you know horror movies aren’t my thing so, no. Up until this point I’ve gone outta my way to avoid thinking about ‘It’.”

Leo gives a short roll of his eyes and draws in on himself. “I wasn’t-” His sigh is so quiet, you would have missed it if you weren’t watching his shell rise and fall. “Nevermind.” 

He frowns into his flavored coffee and you still can't believe he drinks that stuff. After pushing kettles of tea down your throat, the fact that he admitted to waiting all year for a taste of Starbucks in Fall is too endearing. You don't have the heart to tell him you're pretty sure they started selling pumpkin spice lattes in August.

When his frown doesn't let up, you push a toe against his knee and ask him, “What's up?” 

Leo adjusts that wrap, avoiding eye contact, and you know that whatever  _ it _ is has been eating at him for some time.

"Come on.” He’s starting to have you worried. “You weren't talking about the movie so… what is it?"

"Do you ever think about what it'd be like… if we were more than…" he gestures between you and the vague definition of your friendship is clear in the way you're sprawled over the couch with your feet practically in his lap.

Your skin prickles. The energy between you, gone unnamed and unspoken for so long, rises electric. Hope and curiosity spark. You meet his eyes and they drop in an instant. But you didn't miss that look. 

"So, you think about it?" You ask as gently as your racing heart allows, tiptoeing toward the subject you two have been dancing around for weeks.

The two of you have been friends for a long time, but recently the walks through the park and bites to eat before parting ways have felt much less like patrolling. The late nights you spend together have felt charged with anticipation, like the two of you are teetering on the edge of something new.

When he doesn’t answer your question, you backtrack and answer his. "Yeah," you admit quietly. The word almost catches in your throat. "I've thought about it." 

Butterflies swoop through your stomach as Leo makes sure he heard you correctly. "About us?"

You nod and he sputters. His hands tighten around his coffee cup and his knees bounce in their nervous habit.

"I think about it," you correct yourself, letting him know your feelings for him weren’t some fleeting thing.

He swallows hard. His mouth works soundlessly as he struggles for words.

"I've been thinking about us a lot lately."

Finally, he manages to say, "Yeah?" His question is tentative despite his bravado. "What about us?"

"What it'd be like to kiss you." The corner of your mouth lifts as you watch him wet his lips. "Guess this means you think about it too."

He blinks; his eyes startlingly blue, his blush a deep emerald. "I… Yeah, I… But… I dunno," he admits breathlessly. "I've never…"

You nod. You know. It took a lot for him to open up to the few friends he has. And even then, he’s never been close enough to any of them to share more than a hug. 

"I could be bad at it," he says. His inexperience, his uncertainty, pulls at your center. You’ve never seen him so unsure. But you don’t think Leo could be bad at anything. You don’t think kissing Leo could be anything but a dream. 

You sit up, shift onto the center cushion. And, drawing on some hidden store of confidence you didn’t know you had, you beckon Leo closer with a fold of your hand. When he’s near enough you can hear his breathing--even, slow, meditative--you slide your hand along his jaw. The muscles of his face tense and release, but with all of his ninjutsu training, the change in him is almost imperceptible. 

You hold him steady, brush your thumb over his cheek, and tilt your head to catch his gaze. “Don’t think so much.”

“Easy for you to say,” Leo counters with an uneasy smile. But then his eyes meet yours and his breath hitches upon seeing your intention. 

You take the opportunity to memorize his moment of surprise before you lean in. 

Your mouths slide until they’re slotted together, and this could easily be a dream. But Leo puts enough pressure in the kiss for there to be no doubt in your mind that this is real. You're figuratively patting yourself on the back, thinking of how utterly smooth you were getting to this point, until Leo suckles on your bottom lip and wipes your thoughts blank. The delicate touch of his tongue makes your knees tremble. 

There's a soft sound of his cup settling on the floor and then you're aware of his hands. Two points of contact. Light, tentative weights on your shoulders. You smile against his lips and scoot forward until you’re so close he has no choice but to push you away or pull you in. 

Relief and excitement rush through you in a wave as he relaxes into the kiss. Wraps his arms leisurely around your neck. Your own hand moves around his neck with approval and encouragement.

When you part, Leo licks his lips and furrows his brow. "Oh,” he says, as if to himself.

With your heart running a mile a minute and your legs feeling like jelly, 'oh' is not the reaction you expected. Your eyebrows go up as you sit back, suddenly self-conscious. "Is it… was it bad?"

"No! No. I just- It's dumb." He takes a minute to continue and you're holding your breath the whole time. "I thought you'd taste like apples or cinnamon 'cause of the cider, but… you just taste like spit."

" Oh!" Nerves and relief bubble up with a bouncing laugh. " Well,” you shrug and can’t help but point out, “you definitely have coffee breath."

Leo ducks his head, his flush dark and high on his cheeks. "Sorry, I-"

Before he can go on to apologize for existing or rationalize why it would be a bad idea to continue, you place your hand on his shoulder and squeeze. His pebbled skin is rough under your palm and, finally in a position to touch, you give in to your desire to linger. 

The sensation stills his rambling and quiets his mind. Leo shudders beneath your fingertips and it draws you into a quiet calm as well. You share in his silence until the echoing sound of his brothers’ return draws your attention to the tunnels. 

“We can try again.” He suggests. “Friday? I’ll be doing kata til 4, but then we can, um… You can teach me how to do it right.”

You chew the inside of your cheek and your heart sinks. “You mean, like a lesson?” It wasn’t your intention to become some experiment. Some training exercise. You thought he knew. You thought he understood.

Leo breathes deeply, measuring his next words carefully. “I meant like a date? If maybe you'd want that. With me.”

The footsteps in the tunnel are getting closer, so you surge forward for one quick kiss before your privacy is gone. 

Cradling his head in your hands, you give him a smile that you hope translates your excitement into something more than words. But to clarify, you tell him, “A date. I want that. With you.”


End file.
